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Progressive Parties in the UK Must Now Address the Immigration Challenge Head On if Brexit is to be Avoided

Progressive Parties in the UK Must Now Address the Immigration Challenge Head On if Brexit is to be Avoided

Immigration was the dominant issue for voters in the 2016 Referendum demanding that UK politicians should ‘take back control’ of our borders from the EU.

Since then, however, Brexit discussions have focussed on the so-called ‘divorce issues’, with immigration apparently off the agenda. This has allowed Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens to keep their heads down on what remains the highly controversial issue of immigration.

A hard-hitting paper from Jonathon Porritt and Colin Hines suggests that this is very unwise. Public opinion on Brexit continues to soften, but any serious prospect of avoiding a ‘hard Brexit’ (which remains a critical priority for all progressive parties), let alone of rejecting Brexit altogether, depends on decisively addressing UK voters’ concerns about immigration.

Jonathon Porritt: “Progressive parties have already paid a high price, across Europe, by allowing right-wing and populist parties to manipulate citizens’ concerns about high levels of immigration coming into and moving between EU countries. All EU countries are now wrestling with this ongoing dilemma, with the majority of their citizens demanding that their governments should indeed manage immigration far more rigorously – in effect, taking back more control of their borders. Progressive parties are now duty bound to develop much smarter, compassionate policies to achieve precisely that.”

Colin Hines: “What is inadequately understood is that political discussions about reinterpreting ‘freedom of movement’ to allow nation states to manage migration is already taking place across Europe. Such an emphasis in the UK would strengthen support for a ‘No Brexit’ position, as the public is becoming increasingly uneasy about the present state of negotiations on leaving the EU.”

As the paper highlights, 2017 elections in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic have made this a pivotal issue for all centre left and Green parties, in a way that can no longer be ignored or deferred. And there are already welcome signals that both Labour and the Lib Dems are beginning to move in this direction as well, but they need to move far faster and far more proactively than is currently the case. As indeed does the Green Party.

Both Jonathon Porritt and Colin Hines believe that Brexit can be avoided, but that this will only happen when all three political parties address the immigration issue head on, reassuring people that we really can and must take back more control over our borders.

Jonathon Porritt and I have written this report both to address some ‘taboo territory’ for the progressive left and many greens – and to start to undo some of the damage caused by the 2016 Referendum.

Background to the report by Jonathon Porritt

“Anyone who cares about progressive politics has to get real about immigration.”

That’s a quote from Colin Hines, a very good friend of mine. Colin’s work has been ignored and overlooked for far too long by far too many. In January, he published his latest e-book, ‘Progressive Protectionism: Taking Back Control’, and I think Colin would be the first to agree that it has not, as yet, turned out to be a publishing sensation!

His book addresses the four basic ‘freedoms’ on which so much of the EU’s philosophy and policy is based: Freedom of movement for capital, for goods, for services, and for people. As it happens, I don’t share Colin’s fundamental hostility to the movement of goods and services, but on both capital and people, we are pretty much in the same place.

This publication focusses on the freedom of movement for EU citizens. With his permission, roughly half of the raw material for it has been taken from Colin’s e-book, but I have re-ordered it, re-purposed it, and then added a lot of my own stuff. But I do urge you to have a look at Colin’s full protectionist argument in all its unvarnished (and much more provocative!) glory:

ABOUT THE BOOK

‘Progressive Protectionism’ details why ever more open borders are increasing inequality, reducing economic activity and threatening the environment. It explains how countries could rebuild and diversify their economies by limiting what finance, goods, services and people they allow to cross their borders.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Colin Hines could be unkindly described as a ‘c’ list environmentalist who has rattled around the environment movement for decades campaigning on population, food, new technology and unemployment, nuclear proliferation and on the adverse environmental and social effects of international trade. He was the Co-ordinator of Greenpeace International’s Economics Unit having worked for the organisation for 10 years. This broad background resulted in his position that the only way to solve these problems was by replacing globalisation’s open borders with ‘Progressive Protectionism’.
He has been ahead of the game in three areas central to this approach. He has published reports and books calling for ‘Green Protectionism’ since 1990 and he was one of the few on the left and active in green politics who foresaw the need and political centrality of curbing inadequately controlled permanent migration. Finally he coined the term ‘Green New Deal’ and convenes the group of the same name which has campaigned for Green Quantitative Easing (QE) to help provide the enormous funding necessary for a nationwide green infrastructure programme. This will result in increased environmental protection and provide jobs in every community.

ALSO BY COLIN HINES

ART DECO LONDON
This lavishly illustrated book shows where in London magnificent examples of art deco can be found, eaten and quaffed in, slept in, shopped in, and campaigned for.

THE KEWTEES
Tiny, plump and gloriously green, the Kewtees find themselves uprooted from their forest home in the strangest of circumstances. They have to travel far and overcome many difficulties before they reach the safety of the Temperate Greenhouse at Kew Gardens.